Food in Singapore is like baseball in America — it’s the national pastime.

In most countries, people say: “Hi, how are you?” In Singapore, they say “Hi, have you eaten?” usually followed by “What?” “Where?” and “How was it?”

Singaporeans love food. They love eating it, making it, and talking about what they’re having next — “What should we have for lunch?” is a frequent topic of conversation during breakfast.

Food in Singapore is usually served family style, with lots of lots of courses. If you think you could only take that once a day, stay away — I think I had at least four meals every day I was there. I remember my friend’s mom looking sadly at me when I only ate two sandwiches for breakfast. Food is part of how they do things in Singapore. (And yes, I ate a couple more; I didn’t want to cause an international incident.) (And yes, I thought sandwiches for breakfast was weird too — most of her cooking was Malay, and I think she was trying to make me something American.)

So. Be Singaporean with me for a few minutes; let’s talk about food.

Malay and Peranakan food is similar and both are very common in Singapore. If you’re not accustomed to Malaysian, think Thai food, but less spicy — not less hot, it’s very hot, but with a lighter concentration of spices. Also big in Singapore are Chinese (about 75% of Singapore’s population is at least partly of Chinese descent), Indian, Japanese and oddly, Italian. Italian food is the most popular western food in the country.

To check out some of the most popular foods, have a look through the gallery. And if you want a cheap bite to eat in Singapore, ask a cab driver to take you to a hawker center; it’s like a food court, they have everything, and some say it’s the best bang for your buck. Interestingly, cab drivers take Diners Club. Seriously!%Gallery-74889%
This trip was paid for by the Singapore Board of Tourism, but the views expressed within the post are 100% my own.